University of Georgia pitchers Emerson Hancock and Cole Wilcox have been named preseason All-Americans by Baseball America, the publication announced Monday.

Hancock was named to the First Team while Wilcox made the Third Team. On a related note, Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkelson and Hancock are the top two ranked prospects in the 2020 draft class, according to Baseball America.

Hancock, a 6-4, 213-pound native of Cairo, Ga., registered a 1.99 Earned Run Average in 14 starts while going 8-3 in 2019 to earn All-America and All-SEC honors.  Wilcox, a 6-5, 232-pound native of Chickamauga, Ga., posted a 3-2 mark with a 4.07 ERA in 19 appearances last year and was named to the Freshman All-SEC squad. They helped Georgia to a consensus top 20 final national ranking in 2019. The Bulldogs went 46-17 including a school-record 21-9 in the SEC. 

Baseball America annually polls major league organizations’ scouting departments to vote on the team and asks that they make their selections based on performance, talent and professional potential. In the past, the Baseball America Preseason All-America team has been a predictor both of the first round of the draft and of team success.

Fourteen of the 16 regional hosts in the 2019 NCAA Tournament had at least one preseason All-American. Those 14 schools combined to produce 18 of the 42 players on the three teams. Eight members of the 2019 preseason first-team became first-round picks last June, including College Player of the Year and first-overall selection Adley Rutschman. In all, 13 players from last year’s preseason All-America teams were drafted in the first round, including six of the first 10 picks.

Georgia has been ranked as high as No. 4 in the preseason top 25 polls. The 2020 season, under the direction of Ike Cousins head coach Scott Stricklin, begins on Feb. 14. Season tickets are sold out but single game tickets are available. Fans can call (706) 542-1231 to purchase tickets or go online at www.georgiadogs.com/tickets.